(C6th tuning) How do you play E7th chords?

John Ed Kelly · From: Victoria, Australia

Mike wrote: ''It's a dim7th chord. The rule is root, b3, b5 and bb7....''

So using C as the tonic/root, I get C, Eb, Gb, A..and that's an inversion of the Eb dim chord? If that's right, then I've learnt something Shocked

After 40 years of self taught clarinet, I've never had to bother with chords to any great extent, other than hoping the rhythm section is up there.

The SG has been a huge hill for me to climb............I'm enjoying it though!

Don McGregor · From: Memphis, Tennessee

Yep, on a guitar, for instance, it's easy to slide your chord fingering for a diminished 7th chord up or down the neck in three fret intervals. You get the same four notes no matter which position you are playing in, just in a different order.
The augmented chord does this also, only repeating its same 3 notes every 4 frets.
Works the same way on steel. Just maintain your grip and bar slant, and move these chords about. You only have to adjust your slant angle a little by ear and sight as you move higher up the neck into the narrower frets.
I love somethin' for nuthin'. Learn one chord, and get four or five free ones out of the deal. Slap that baby up and down the neck, and you look like you know what you're doing.

Stephen Baker · From: Lancashire, UK

And John, once you get the diminished chords, arpeggios , scales and how and where to use them under your belt you also become a better clarinet player into the bargain. Steve

John Ed Kelly · From: Victoria, Australia

Stephen wrote: ''........you also become a better clarinet player into the bargain.''

No doubt I would.........and want to...............the problem is that I have 40 years of clarinet playing under my belt.....strictly non-legit style. That is, I play by feel.....or muscle memory....or whatever other terms may best describe a non-reading style.

I think that some of our SG correspondents, play in a similar fashion, but perhaps they rely on tabs rather than dots, however I don't think that tabs or dots are for me really.

I am slowly grasping the patterns for scales and melodies on the neck, but I couldn't necessarily name the notes I'm playing - the names of chords are slowly coming to me though.

Danny Bates · From: Fresno, CA. USA

You might want to try an E9th chord.

Here's the rule...

Whenever you slide down 2 frets and flat the 5th tone, You get a 9th chord.

For instance, with a high to low tuning ECAGEC... on the 4th fret, (picking strings 1,2 and 4) you get the notes G#, E, B respectively.

If you slide down 2 frets and do a forward slant to lower the 4th string, you get the notes F#, D and G#

The 9th, b7 and 3rd tones of the E scale

Mike Ihde · From: Boston, MA

Danny,
Not to be confusing, you meant to say a "Split Bar" where the tab would read from high to low 2,2,3. Saying a forward slant presumes something like 4, 3, 2.

Danny Bates · From: Fresno, CA. USA

No I meant (what I call) a forward slant. String 1 and 2 are on the second fret an string 4 is on the 1st fret. BTW, I'm a fan of yours for many years.

Danny Bates · From: Fresno, CA. USA

Here's the same rule applied to 6 string guitar.

Notice strings 2,3 and 4 here...

C major chord

Now notice a C9th chord on strings 2,3 and 4...

It has been slid down 2 frets with the 5th tone flatted.

Mike Ihde · From: Boston, MA

Danny,

Not to belabor the point, but a forward slant or a reverse slant is always applied to notes on different frets wether they're 2 string slants or 3 or more string slants.

The very different and difficult split bar slant means that 2 high notes are on the same fret and a lower note is a fret or 2 lower than the high notes.

You said it correctly as far as what happens to the low note, it's just not called a forward slant.

I'm glad you're enjoying my music. Thanks!

Danny Bates · From: Fresno, CA. USA

It's not a difficult thing so why say it is?

Strings 1 and 2 are on one fret and string 4 is one fret below. It's probably the easiest (slant or whatever you want to call it) there is. The bar is slanting forward. When I'm playing the guitar, people see what looks like a forward slant. Not a reverse slant. My poor terminology is not meant to confuse people and I appreciate the correction, but I'm trying to help people instead of confuse them.

Chris Renna · From: Massachusetts, USA

Big thanks to Don and Ray! Those will really help with the jazz standards I am working on.

- C

Paul DiMaggio · From: Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada

Well, I ain't no expert but I'm pretty sure that a slant that straddles 2 adjacent strings on one fret and a 3rd string on a fret lower or higher is called a split string slant to differentiate it from a forward or reverse slant. Jerry Byrd, Lorene Ruymar, Ray Montee, Mike Neer and Jimmy Roy, just to name a few, call them that. I, for one, am not about to argue with the any of those folks. My hat is off to you tho, Danny, for finding the split string slant easy. I fought with that darn thing for 2 years and I still mess it up sometimes.

John Ed Kelly · From: Victoria, Australia

Paul writes: ''My hat is off to you tho, Danny, for finding the split string slant easy.''

Might the type of bar used have an influence on the ease (or otherwise) of doing slants?

Danny Bates · From: Fresno, CA. USA

You can "Hide a World of Sins" with vibrato. Smile

Paul DiMaggio · From: Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada

I don't think so John, I use a 918 or a 920 both are good bars. I didn't have as much trouble with regular slants as I did [do] with the split string. One or the other strings on the top were out all the time. I was pressing too hard I think, and not using enough vibrato. I got some lessons from Jimmy Roy in Vancouver last Dec.,made a big difference in my education.
Yes Danny, vibrato is like a 5 gallon overhaul,covers up lots of stuff. Smile

Jonathan Stuart · From: Washington, USA

The way I read Ray's chord is a first inversion Fmin6. This may be because playing the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th string barred straight read as a first inversion of a F6. Then dropping the fifth string down into this split bar gives us the min6. I guess we would need the presence of a 5th or a flatted 5th to determine whether it would be a min6 or a dim6. Wow, this is fun!

Don McGregor · From: Memphis, Tennessee

One thing key to three string slants is knowing it's not enough to just place the bar across all three selected strings. The rounded tip of a bullet type bar must be the part that frets the two adjacent strings. The rounded tip acts much as if it were a steel marble supported between two strings. If placed correctly, this rounded tip will automatically get these two notes pretty close to in tune, no matter which way the other end is swung around.
When I first started attempting 3 string slants, both split and not, I was so busy concentrating on the angle, the correct fret marker, and right hand grip, that I would fail to pull my bar back so that I was using the proper part of the bar tip for the adjacent strings. It took quite a bit of practice before I began to feel comfortable with slants. Once you got'em, though, you got'em. They really aren't and harder than straight bar once you get used to them, and they open up a whole world of possibilities that I am still exploring.
Then there are all the discussions on the forum about how certain scale lengths, string spacing, bar diameter, and phases of the Moon, all factor into how easy it is to achieve ear pleasing slants.
It's a lot to grok, but worth the work.

Hal Braun · From: Eustis, Florida, USA

Heheheh.. "A lot to grok" I can honestly say that is one word I NEVER expected to see on the Steel Guitar Forum! Well done!!!

Tim Heidner · From: Groves, TX

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